A Fighting Chance
by GBblahblahblah
Summary: Madge is thrust into a world of poverty and starvation when her father, the Mayor of district 12, is found guilty of treason against the Capitol and is hung in the town square. Alone and scared, Madge must fight for her mother's and her own survival but will a chance encounter with a fiery girl from the Seam and her handsome broody best friend change everything.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: don't own the Hunger Games, never have, never will sadly.

Madge wasn't a stupid twelve year old, far from it actually. Yes, maybe in public she put on her dumb daddy's girl facade, waving and smiling and generally fawning over the few Capitol attendees that stayed in her house every few months, but she was capable of so much more than that. She had size on her side, her small frame made her a stealthy spy and meant she could fall into the shadows with ease, something that she'd quickly learnt useful when gathering important information. She looked innocent enough to share secrets with, stupid enough to be unsuspecting and young enough to be incapable of involvement in something so big as a rebellion.

Her father though, well he wasn't as invincible. Madge worried that one day his obvious lack in strict law- enforcement would mean more than a stern telling off, which is all she'd gotten when she was caught, and more of a death penalty. Still, he insisted on helping the miners, hosting small meetings with what Madge had dubbed "the leaders" of the Seam workers, every few weeks. She tried to listen in of course, bending down on the floor with her ear pressed against the crack, desperately struggling to make out words from the quiet muffles that echoed off the walls. She caught the odd word though, ... strikes ... starved ... rebellion, and it terrified her what her father was associating himself with so openly and publicly. Yes, Madge was all for change but not when the price was her father's life. He didn't stop though, even when she begged him to in between heart wrenching sobs.

It started small of course. They stopped sending medication for her mother, her poor migraine crippled mother, who's screams served as haunting warnings to her father of what would come if he did not stop. The miner's kept coming though. Then it was new peacekeepers and with them came new laws. Curfews were imposed, gatherings of more than three were banned. Still the miners snuck in. Whispers of rebellions reached Madge at school, children of miners told of how their brave father's were going to strike soon, how they'd win. Madge knew the outcome would be different.

Plans of the strike reached the new head peacekeepers ear on the Saturday. Her father was hung on the Sunday. It had gone so achingly slow yet fast all at once. Men clad in inform had stormed her house on the Saturday night, breaking the doors and furniture of her house as they rummaged for any documents or evidence against her father. She had known what was to come, evidence or not, and she'd cried into her brave father's chest as they sat on the three seats they had been forced to sit in while the search took place.

"My sweet magpie,"he'd kissed her forehead,

" I'm so sorry, I really am. But one day you will understand why I must be taken from you today." Her sobs now retched through her petite frame, shaking it against her father's chest where her fingers gripped onto his shirt. He smelt of expensive cologne as-well as this sweet distinctive smell that she was sure belonged just to him, a mixture of pipe smoke and scotch with a hint of fresh coffee, the one she'd made him every morning before he'd left for work.

" I don't want you to go, please, don't go. I ca.. cant look after mum on my own." Her whispered cries fell on deaf ears though, her father had accepted his fate.

"You will do great things one day my little mockingjay, I believe you will live to see a free world, nothing like the one we live in now. So you must fight. Promise me you'll fight"

"I promise!" At that he was ripped away from her, labelled a traitor for committing treason against the Capitol and the very next morning, hung in the town square. Her and her mother were put into custody in the justice building, separated of course and not told a single word about the other, but Madge had to believe her mother wasn't dead. That both her parents hadn't left her alone to fight in this world.

4 years later...

"Gale, you idiot, I can't believe you pushed me in! Now I'm gonna have to wash my hair before the Reaping!" Madge chuckled from her spot downstream, watching as Katniss flicked her wrist upwards from underneath the current to send a splash towards a smirking Gale. The larger of the two stood unaffected though, flicking his hair out of his face, where the water had pushed it into his eyes, so he could continue to poke his handmade "spear" under the water, looking for an unsuspecting fish to pass by. She noticed his smirk had also stayed unaffected. Typical.

"Apologise to me, Gale Hawthorne, or I swear I'll..."

"Awww Catnip, I was just having a bit of fun, forgive me, pleassseee." He dropped to his knees suddenly, effectively drenching his pants in water, whilst also sending a large splash Madge's way. Already wet through, from when Gale had thrown her in before, Madge didn't even flinch at the cold touch of the droplets hitting her skin and instead chuckled at his pitiful, not to say sarcastic, apology. Katniss however, didn't find it so humorous, replying only by wringing out her top, making sure to deliver a pointed glare at Gale when quite a bit of excess water poured out of the worn down fabric.

"You'll dry off in no time Kat, it's summer, calm down." Madge reasoned with her scowling best friend as the three of them sat to eat their pathetic excuse of a lunch, the one fish MADGE had caught, much to Gale's annoyance. They'd caught more game than that obviously, but they all knew that they had to stop by to trade later, and she needed the money more than her stomach needed the extra "unnecessary" food.

They all understood the struggles of starvation, of having to stay hungry so each of their family's wouldn't have to. It was one of the things that had brought them together. It had taken time however, for them to trust each other this much, for them to depend on each other this much, a long time indeed. Of course Katniss and Gale had their father's bringing income in to their households, which put less pressure on the other two to make as much from their trades, but for Madge this was all she had for now. She was too young to work in the mines and her mother was bedridden most days, barely able to walk and talk coherently due to her crippling headaches, never mind keep a paying job for more than a week. Madge was the sole provider of her household, albeit that her family was much smaller than say Gale's.

That's one thing Madge was glad about, being an only child. Yes, it was lonely sometimes having no siblings, especially when her mother was knocked out on some cheap drug Madge could barely afford, but being alone meant less mouths to feed and less worry for the Reaping. The Reaping that afternoon. It would be Gale's last, Rory's first, Katniss' fifth, Prim's first and Madge's fifth. The odds weren't exactly in any of their favour, especially the older of the eligible kids.

"Enjoying your last weeks above earth, Hawthorne, last weeks of freedom?" Madge broke the silence that had settled between them whilst they had been eating, looking up at Gale from where she now laid in the grass.

"Freedom." He muttered under his breath, shaking his head as he chuckled quietly at her question.

"This isn't freedom Undersee, being kept inside the fence, being taught all about the "amazing Capitol", children being Reaped every damn year. The mine's... well, they're just another reminder of the freedom we never had, fuck them." Gale stares at her, not harshly like he had when he first met her but instead with a sad smile at her naivety. Of course they weren't free.

"Wow, you're an optimist Gale." Katniss joked from where she sat, rolling her eyes at the pair who had been talking just seconds before. Madge knew how much Katniss didn't like deep conversations, especially treasonous ones that could get you killed, just like her father had been.

"It's called being realistic, Catnip. Think about it, how many slips have we each got for today, 42 for me, 20 for you, Katniss and 13 for you, Madge. Then add on the fact that we hunt outside the fence and have younger siblings. The odds aren't exactly in our favour, never have been, never will be."

Madge couldn't help believe what he was saying, the odds truly hadn't been in her favour for a long time, and with being a descendant to a Capitol traitor, Madge was left thinking if her luck would run out sooner rather than later.

They start home after that, they'd caught enough that morning to keep their families fed for a few days, and they knew how long trading would take them, especially with the people from town, who liked to change their prices depending on their mood that day, which Madge knew pissed Gale off quite a bit. That's why Madge normally dealt with the customers in town, many of them holding a sweet spot for the girl who they remembered from a long time ago when she would buy whatever she wanted from their shops. A time that Madge had tried to forget. Still she smiled at them, used her Mayor's daughter charm that she hadn't lost over the years to lower their prices. Of course a few thought it funnier to taunt her instead, make fun of her dead father and sickly mother, mock her change in status. Katniss had quickly learnt to trade with them in Madge's place, especially after that time Gale had thrown a dead squirrel's heart at the Baker's horrid wife. Funny for Madge, yes, funny for their reputation, definitely not.

Madge didn't think Katniss minded trading at the Bakery anyway, mostly because of the way the baker's youngest son Peeta and her, Katniss not Madge, made goo goo eyes at each other every time he'd answer to trade with them. Which had unsurprisingly, gotten more and more often as of recently. Gale on the other hand, looked thoroughly unimpressed by the whole situation, grunting his disapproval regularly which earned him a few elbowing in the ribs from Madge herself. She assumed he was jealous of Peeta, Madge was certain that Gale had a bit of a crush on their best friend, which hurt her a bit more than it should have. A lot more than it should have actually. It was true though, Madge had always held a little flame for her tall, dark and extremely handsome friend despite how much she tried to convince herself she didn't. She knew it would never become anything more than a fantasy, so in her mind she believed there was no point in dwelling on it. Of course she was fine with being just friend's with him, more than fine actually, and she had never hurt much over the girl's he was rumoured to have taken to the slag heap, but Katniss was different. Katniss was her best friend in the world, her sole confident and the first person to befriend Madge when the going had gotten really rough. She doesn't know what she would do if the two went off together, and bitterly she cursed Gale, he had already stolen some of her heart, she wasn't going to let him take her only other friend too. She never said this out loud though, she wouldn't do that to them. It's not like Katniss reciprocated any of his feelings anyway, that much was clear from the way she looked shyly at Peeta Mellark when he opened the door that morning.

"What have you got for us today?" He smiled at Katniss, which had her friend blushing the same colour as Darius' hair on a sunny day and tripping on her words as she replied not quite as smoothly as the young baker had.

"Ummm... squirrels, yes, we have umm," Katniss quickly rummaged through the bag before carrying on, " two squirrels, that's what we usually trade, right."

Peeta nodded quickly, turning around to grab a few coins from somewhere behind the door that Madge couldn't quite see from where she was standing against the gate of the bakery's pig enclosure. He returned quickly though, holding out seven silver coins instead if the usual six that they paid in his outstretched palm. Madge watched Katniss mull over whether to argue about the overpay or not, smiling to herself when her friend quickly took the coins from the boy and swapped them for two quite plump squirrels. They quickly said their goodbyes, Katniss fumbling them out eventually and Madge waved to the boy over her shoulder as Katniss dragged her away in an obvious hurry.

"Someone's in a bit of a rush." Madge pointed out as Katniss practically ran away towards the Seam, pulling Madge behind her.

"I promised Gale we'd meet him before we went home to get ready for the Reaping, which may I point out is in 2 hours. We need to rush Madge, specifically now that we have to go down backroads to avoid the crews setting up in the square." Point taken. Madge rolled her eyes in defeat, jogging quicker to catch up with the quick pace that Katniss had been going at for the past five minutes.

They reached the Hob, twelve's old rickety black market, faster than normal, albeit a bit out of breath, where Gale was waiting outside the building, picking at his nails absentmindedly.

" You guys took your sweet time." He piped up as they neared but kept his eyes down on his permanently grey stained hands, his hunter's instincts obviously kicking in when he had heard their footsteps approaching.

"Yeah, well Katniss here got a bit distracted." Madge pointed the blame at Katniss, smirking when her cheeks flush strawberry once again.

"Did not!" She defended herself like the stubborn girl she was.

"Did too."

"Did not!"

"Shush, both of you" Gale rolled his eyes at the squabbling pair. Katniss and Madge rarely argued, unlike himself and Madge, but it was always funny when they did. He wasn't really in the mood for their petty too and fro's today though, he had to get home soon.

" Let's just split the money and food and go, we need to get ready, these clothes stink from the river water." He continued when the girls had stopped fighting and instead started scowling at him.

"Wonder whose fault that is? Hmmmm." Madge mumbled under her breath as she grabbed the coins she had collected from their trades out of her back pockets. Twenty- four in total, eight each.

That should buy Madge's mother another dose of sleeping pills and get Madge some more sandpaper to sharpen some of her blunt blades of her knives.

"We've got a squirrel, 2 pheasants and a grouse"

"Well the pheasants are quite big so what about 1 pheasant each for two of us and the third gets the squirrel and the grouse." Madge suggested, looking to her partners for confirmation on her idea.

"Yeah, I'll take a pheasant, my mum needs their feathers for some weird thing she's doing with Prim, something about some salve for sore joints, I don't really know." Katniss quickly agreed, looking around for any peacekeepers before grabbing a pheasant from Madge's bag and placing it in her own.

"Well I'll keep the squirrel and the grouse, more meat will last longer in my family, if that's alright Madge." Gale looked to her for agreement to which she nodded in response, tightening the stings on her own bag which held her pheasant.

"I'll see you two at the Reaping then." She squeezed Katniss' hand tightly and smiled even tighter before heading off towards her house, which was situated on the opposite side of the hob to the other two's.

"Wear something pretty, princess." She heard Gale shout as she walked away from them.

"Not a chance, Hawthorne!" She smiled to herself at their inside joke. What had started out as a pointless jab at her old wealth when they were younger had turned into a somewhat tradition for the two of them when they departed on Reaping day. What hadn't changed though was the faint pink blush that she spotted all the way home, if anything it had gotten worse.

Her house was old and rickety, a one bedroom shack with creaking floorboards and a broken porch light. It felt like home though. Yes, it wasn't the mansion she used to live in all those years ago, it had no luxurious ensuites or butlers, didn't even have a working hot water system, but Madge felt like she'd earned this house. She'd put her heart and soul into it, tireless hours to make sure it wouldn't fall down in the winter storms and that the furniture was as clean as she could get it. She was proud of it.

Stamping her boots outside first, Madge entered to find her mother sitting in her chair, an old rocking one that Madge had been told was Madge's great grandmothers when she was alive. She was reading one of the few books her and her mother had been allowed to keep when she'd gone to collect the little stuff from their old house that they'd actually owned, Little Women it was called, and both her mum and Madge loved it.

"Ohhh, Margaret, your home." Her mother raised her head slightly so her eyes peaked above the aged pages of the book, staring dreamily at her daughter who stood in the kitchen. Madge swiftly placed her game bag down by the table leg, kicking it out of the sight of any nosy peacekeepers, before she hurried to her mother's side. The page, she noticed, was still page 1, exactly where it had been when Madge had arrived home last night after hunting all of Saturday.

"Yeah, I'm home, how've you been mum? You feeling okay?" Madge lifted her hand to her mother's forehead, lightly dabbing it to check for a temperature, which was a common occurrence with her mother. She was very warm.

"Did you have your medication this morning mum?" She gnawed on her bottom lip as she made her way to be back room, before she shuffled through the containers on her mother's bedside table. Dammit, she hadn't.

"My head hurts sweetie, I need to lay down for a bit." Her mum muttered to herself quietly which caused Madge to rush to her side again, gently lifting her up and guiding her to her bed. She got her tucked in and she miraculously managed to coax her mother into swallowing a sleeping pill before she fell asleep, which she knew would help keep her knocked out through the Reaping until Madge got home, if Madge got home that was. No, no, no she needed to stop thinking like that, like Gale, it's getting to her head, she'll be fine, she had to be fine. Breath.

The bath tub was fashioned from tin and beaten into shape with a flat hammer. It was just big enough for Madge to sit in, seeing how short she was, and the water was never more than tepid. It never flowed from he faucet either, instead deciding to splutter and spit out in sporadic bursts. She didn't mind though, she'd gotten used to the squeaky pipes and pattering tune that the water made as it hit the basin of the tub, plink plink plink, learnt to love the drumming sound of her dirty fingernails against the metal lip of the bath.

She submerged herself under the water once the tub was full, letting the water rush against her limbs which prickled with goosebumps in the cold. Her eyes squeezed shut, lips sealed tightly in a line and hand come down to clamp on her nose so to prevent any inhalation as she rested on the bottom of the tub. She stayed there for ten seconds, feeling the water against her scalp as her hair blew around her like it did in the wind on a winter's day. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. She pulled herself up quickly, letting her lungs inhale deep breaths of "fresh" air. Fresh being a relative term in the Seam.

Her hair cascaded behind her, long and golden in the small beams of sunlight that entered through the small cracked window to her left. Her fingers scrubbed harshly against her scalp in an attempt to relieve it of some of the dirt it had gathered over the past week, while her opposite hand rubbed a small bar of soap in between the crevices of her body. The water had turned murky with all the grime by the end of it, and Madge smiled proudly at her pristine pearly skin in the mirror. Of course, she didn't have the darker complexion that marked the Seam people, like Gale and Katniss had, nor was her hair dark or eyes grey but the Seam people had slowly learnt to accept her, smiling at her in the Hob and sitting with her and Katniss at lunch. It was nice. Being accepted.

Many from town had renounced her and her mother after her father was hung, not wanting to be associated with a treasonous family like the remaining Undersee's had been dubbed. It was stupid really, and it had hurt her twelve year old self. Her few friends wouldn't sit with her, wouldn't even look at her, and it hurt. It hurt a lot. She'd learnt to ignore it by now, she had a new life and new friends. Better friends actually. Ones who didn't use her for money or try to marry her off, ones who weren't afraid to argue with her and her beliefs every once in a while. Boys who weren't afraid to kiss her becomes of who her father was, girls who didn't bitch about her behind her back. Still, she wondered what she would have turned out like had she grown up on the the other side of the divide. The side she was born to.

AN: basically in my mind Katniss and Gale's dad weren't killed in the mines because the mayor took the fall for them which meant that Katniss and Gale are both a bit less serious and a bit more fun, just to clear up any confusion. If you guys have any other questions about the back story of any of the characters or would like to know what happened in between this chapter and chapter 1 please PM me or review. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, if you did please fav, follow and review, it means a lot. Also, who do you guys think should be reaped?

Love you guys GB xxx


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games, I swear!

Also leave me a review coz I've got tonsillitis and I feel like I'm gonna die? Have any of you had tonsillitis?

Madge hated the Reaping as much as any other. She couldn't name a single person who liked it. Why would they? The Reaping was the day that two kids would get taken, get forced to leave everything they knew and fight to the death. The Reaping never benefitted anyone, not in twelve at least. The odds were never in their favour. And yes, many would never get reaped but chances are a friend would or a sibling, and in many ways that hurt more than getting Reaped ever could. Because they had to live with the emptiness that came after the deaths, carry on their lives like that person had never existed. But they had. The reaped carried on in people's hearts, in their memories, in their every thought, tormenting for some, reassuring for others. Madge's mother was proof that the Reaped could not be forgotten. Gone but never forgotten.

...

Her dress was worn and stained a permanent gray despite how many washes she'd spent scrubbing her fingers red raw to restore it's pearly shine. She remembered when her father had bought her the dress, along with a perfect miniature replica for her favourite doll. Daisy she'd named the doll, after the flowers in her garden she liked to play with when her mother rarely came to sit outside instead of in bed. Those had been her good days, the ones without screams or moans of pain from the door across the hallway, and Madge smiled as she remembered the happy times of her early childhood. Of course she'd had to sell the doll when they'd been thrown onto the streets, had parted from it easily when enticed with food for her growling stomach and medicine for her mother's increasingly bad migraines. She'd kept the dress for herself though, unsure if she'd ever be able to afford a new one at the time and too scared of showing up in nothing, like those tributes on TV. to part with it. She'd worn it to every Reaping after that along with her aunt's mockingjay pin which beamed brightly against the dull fabric, not having worn over time like the dress had. She didn't mind though, not having a new dress like many of the other girls did every Reaping. Her lack of nutrition had slowed her growth and she stood only slightly bigger than her twelve year old self had, her now larger boobs and hips the only extremely tight areas around the dress really. She'd rather save her hard earnt money for more important things than Reaping dresses.

She kissed her mother before leaving. The older having been given permission to stay at home and watch the Reaping a few years ago when she'd had a fit in the square, apparently completely embarrassing district 12 on national TV. Like they weren't already embarrassment enough. Madge wouldn't complain though, she much preferred her mum being completely out of it when everything happened in the square anyway, scared what her mother's reaction would be if Madge was Reaped and she was there.

Having left the house later than she'd planned, Madge rushed to arrive in the square, afterall Peacekeepers made sure hat any one not attending the Reaping was punished and she'd much rather take on her odds in the Reaping than be killed for her tardiness like others had before her. Focusing her head downwards, Madge not only felt but heard her feet clattering loudly against the worn streets of district 12, the sound thundering rhythmically in her ears along with the racing of her heartbeat. Breathe in, breathe out, carry on. The square appeared around her last corner, a looming presence of torment and depression, where everyone stood in line like cattle before her. She wanted to turn around, run back home and curl up with her mother, but she couldn't, instead she kept her pace. Running down the street in her god damn awful Reaping shoes was even more agonisingly painful than last year, the pair of flats 2 sizes too small for her, from when she'd brought them at 13, rubbing annoyingly against her heel with every step she sprinted. The crowd in front of her quickly became large and dense, parents shoving each other to try to get one last glimpse of their kid before the Reaping commenced. She saw old Ripper betting with another man near her and she wondered if her odds would earn either of them anything, she didn't doubt her name would be a top bet amongst them, Rebel's daughter and all.

A familiar scream rung out from ahead, freezing Madge and her thoughts for a second before adrenaline kicked in and her feet carried her forwards. Primrose's cries pierced above the nervous murmurs of the crowds awaiting their fate, and Madge rushed as fast as her damned shoes would let her to comfort the younger girl who she loved like a sister, despite the muttering complaints that followed her as she skipped the queue for signing in. Katniss, of course, was already embracing Prim when Madge wrapped herself around the pair, shielding them from the beady eyes that surrounded them from onlookers.

"Nothing to see here, move along." Madge shouted at the now silent mass in the square, waving her arms in the direction of the Reaping section whilst adorning her most sickly sweet smile. The crowd quickly turned away at that, restarting awkward conversations in an attempt to ignore the frightened child's cries. And really that was all they were, frightened children, who's lives, for today, were on the line. It was terrifying really. Madge had learnt to block it out most days, but the fear of the Reaping always seemed to creep back in when the cold days turned warm and the sun shone down, a blistering reminder of what was coming. Today. Today was the day she'd been blocking out for months, and no amount of putting it off would stop two kids from being taken. Madge just prayed that she wouldn't know them, that it wouldn't be a Hawthorne or a Everdeen or an Undersee being called. The odds had never been in her favour though.

A familiar woman in uniform, Purnia, was the one to break them up from their huddle, ushering the three of them to the next available post to be pricked for recognition gently, before she returned to the her designated position. The Peacekeeper at the post was not so kind. His hands we're harsh around her wrist when he drew her blood, and the look of pitiless disgust in his eyes when he gave each of them a once over to confirm their identity, made it obvious he was not from around here. The only good thing about him was his speed, his lack of concern meant he was quick to let them through, which gave them longer to get to their area before the ceremony commenced.

To the right of the stage stood the only living victor from district twelve, a man who's only escape from his nightmares was a bottle of liquor from Ripper's stand in the Hob. She'd seen him there many times, Haymitch Abernathy, drinking himself into a senseless oblivion much like her mother did on pills. He just served as a reminder of her sickly mother, who screamed out the Victor's name in pain as she would writhe in bed, crippled by images of her dead sister. And she wanted to hate him, she really did, but she couldn't. Madge just pitied the man on stage, alone with his demons. He hated himself enough for the whole district anyway, her resentment would do nothing for either of them. Plus, the extra money for the house had had to have come from someone, and she suspected it was his doing, a sought of owing of a debt for Maysilee's death all those years ago. Madge knew a lot about debts. She understood.

To the left, with her lips puckered and her legs neatly crossed sat a lemon frocked Effie trinket, district 12's hopeless escort. She wore a sarcastic smile to hide her utter detest of district twelve but Madge saw right through it, after all it took an actress to know one, and Madge was the master of fake politeness. She had to be to survive.

And finally in the centre stood the Mayor, a stern looking man of maybe 50 years who had replaced her father after the hanging. He wasn't kind like her father had been, and she saw no pity or regret in him as took to the stage with a concentrated look in his eye to deliver his annual speech. He coughed into the microphone, alerting the already fearfully frozen crowd that it was time to start the 'show'. Then he began. His lips read out the same story that he'd told every year before this one, of Panem's history, from the apocalypse that turned the world into nothing but disasters and of the brave who created Panem from ruins, the shining solution to all of the world's problems. He carried on to explain the dark days, the uprisings that led to the defeat of twelve districts and the annihilation of the thirteenth, and how in return for the new found 'peace' in Panem, the Treaty of Treasons was created. A set of confinements and punishments disguised as helpful laws to keep the districts in check. And from the treaty, the annual reaping of two from each district arose, the Hunger Games, a competition to the death as the districts payment to the Capitol for the rebellion so long ago. A debt that no amount of lives could repay, no amount of blood shed could end, for it had become somewhat of a Capitol festivity. A source of entertainment for the brainwashed, bleached fools of the Capitol, who cheered for their Victors and disregarded the dead. It was just another way of pitting district against district, rich against poor, friend against friend, and Madge almost despised the Capitol's reasoning behind it, more than the Games themselves. Almost.

"It is both a time for Repentance and a time for thanks." He finished before grabbing the expected short list from his pocket. For the list contained a mere 4 words.

Kolton Burnings.

Haymitch Abernathy.

From the seventy- three years of the games, 148 tributes from district twelve, only two had returned. Madge had never known the first, he had apparently died not long after Haymitch's victory, and the second, well, he could barely put on his own clothes never mind mentor two kids. District twelve was the laughing stock of Panem, it's tribute's never lasting longer than the second day, and its mentor a constant embarrassment in both the district and the Capitol. Madge could only cringe at the sight of him as he stood, albeit with a large wobble, to bow at the call of his name in mockery. Would their misfortune ever end?

A clicking of heels against concrete from the left of the stage to the centre drew back Madge's gaze to the microphone and, more importantly, to the hands wrapped around it. Shimmering talons clawed themself around the unsuspecting mic, tapping out a joyous tune against it's handle to distract them from what was about to happen.

"Happy Hunger games and may the odds be ever in your favour!" Madge's ears strained to hear the annoyingly high pitches voice of Effie as she chirped init the mic, too distracted by the two glass bowls to either side of her, menacingly large and filled with slips. Madge prayed.

"As usual...Ladies first!" Madge faintly heard though her mumbled thoughts, the words only serving to remind her hands to shake and clam up around Katniss' beside her, who's in return squeezed tightly around Madge's. The blonde felt her stomach do the same as Katniss' hand, her organs squeezing and contorting themselves inwards in a clenching movement of nervousness. She looked around, her eyes locking with Gale's, who stood intimidatingly tall above those around him in the 18 year old section, and his nod to Rory said it all. No one was safe this year. It wasn't just the three of them anymore, this time it was Prim and Rory. Madge nodded back because she knew what he was saying, if Rory's name got reaped he'd volunteer. And without even looking at Katniss she knew her brave friend would do the same.

"Primrose Everdeen!"

And that's when her world stopped, her heart froze, her mind blanked.

No! No! No! She braced herself for the pain, the inevitable. Numbness sweeping over her as Katniss dropped her hand and rushed forward. And as it fell, cold and alone, Madge felt something break inside of her, shatter until nothing was left. A hole where her heart had been, and an empty spot beside her. Damn the fucking Capitol. Damn them all.

AN: Sorry this chapter is a bit short and a bit of a filler, but I really wanted to update for you all, so I really hope you enjoyed it, next chapter will be much better. Thankyou for your amazing reviews, SJJ, K.C, JToshiro and the guest, they are well appreciated I assure you all. Please review, fav and follow this chapter, it means a lot I swear. Love you all GB xxx


	3. Chapter 3

AN:

Review responses for chapter 3:

Lsquare - I know what you mean about the set up normally used with Seam!Madge stories but I wanted to be slightly original and see how their dynamics and feelings for each other would change. This chapter also touches on the togetherness of the trio when the pressure is put on them. Hope you enjoy.

nursekelly0429 - thankyou for reviewing, hope this chapter answers you're question about who will volunteer for Prim.

Guest - thankyou so much for the feedback, hope you enjoy this chapter.

Cherryredgurl - thankyou for reviewing, and yes, I did want to add a new original situation to the ships especially Gale and Madge. I think he'll be more accepting and open with her because they are friends but could that make him more blind to her affections? Will they be too scared to ruin their friendship? Wait and see.

Hope you enjoy this chapter, please make sure to review, fav and follow of you like the story, or does mean the world. Thankyou to all thy followed me and faves this story last chapter. I will hopefully be updating a bit quicker next time, but if I don't Merry Xmas/ happy holidays to all that read my stories.

Love you guys GB xxx

Disclaimer: don't own The Hunger Games, sad but true.

"I volunteer. I volunteer as tribute."

Madge's feet propelled her forward on instinct. Pushing her violently past the other 16 year old girls towards Katniss. Her heart was not only beating again, it was pounding against her chest like a battle cry, and along with it, her sense of determination had been reignited. Prim. She needed to get to Prim. Katniss was already a few seconds ahead of her, her reaction having been quicker than Madge's, but she hadn't seen the Peacekeepers coming like Madge had.

"No, Katniss, no, no." Prim fought against the peacekeepers pulling her away from her sister's tight embrace to no avail.

"Go find mum, Prim, go find mum!" Katniss screamed as she was yanked towards the stage by four peacekeepers, her desperate pleas for her sister only making Prim's cries increase. Madge pushed forward into the aisle in one swift movement, her head bobbing under the roped off area before her feet sent her dashing towards Prim. She only caught Katniss' eye for a moment before her best friend was pushed to face forward, but it was long enough to understand what she needed her to do.

"Help her! No, don't let them take her! Madge, Gale, please. Katniss, noooo, nooo!" Prim squirmed violently out of the peacekeeper's grip before attempting to run after her sister. Madge blocked her quickly, her hands raising Prim with ease off of the ground and into her chest. Prim's tears only worsened, her begging only more distressed than before as Madge carried her fighting figure towards where Ivy and Wren Everdeen stood at the front of one of the side streets. Madge didn't think what she was doing was particularly allowed normally in other district's, but most of the Peacekeepers in twelve were either too distracted by Katniss, overwhelmed by the chaos unfolding, or clueless to normal protocol to argue against her as she dropped Prim into her mother's arms. To her surprise, Madge noticed that Ivy Everdeen wasn't crying or bawling like many mother's had been in the past. No, her face was empty and vacant and her eyes were blinded with a hollow glistening that Madge had seen so many times before in her own mother's eyes. The look of hope draining away slowly, achingly slowly. Wren was stood to her left with dignity, and although he hid his anger and hurt well, his chin jutted out just far enough for Madge to see how hard he was clamping his mouth shut to hold the tears in. She nodded at him in understanding and he suddenly pulled her in close, his arms wrapping her into his warm embrace as he whispered a small

"Don't let them see you cry, not for their entertainment." She stepped back in shock, and Madge looked deeply into the eyes of the man who had almost raised her like his own, who had accepted her with such kindness when no one would bare to even look at her and her mother, and she nodded, this time with newfound purpose. She wouldn't let them win.

Of course the adrenaline soon wore off, and Madge's hands began to shake as she walked briskly back to her place in the sixteen year old section. But she kept her head held high, even as she struggled to keep herself from collapsing every step of the way. Don't let them see you cry, don't let them see you cry, she repeated in her head over and over again, a mantra to keep herself going.

She glanced over at Gale , having composed herself a bit, just to let him see that she was okay, or at least pretending to be okay. But all she could see was the left profile of his face, the slight curve of his nose and the determined side scowl he wore so often. Instead of the soft teasing gaze he had worn mere hours ago, the playful stare that had promised laughter and easy banter, there was a bubbling glare of hatred and disgust. And Madge swore she saw Effie visibly wilt into herself when the superficial woman caught his eye from her place on stage. Gale had always scared Madge when he got like this, all rationality in that thick head of his blinded by his anger.

Madge's feet paused mid stride. Gale wouldn't do that, would he? Volunteer. No, not after all those times he'd asked that one question, not in fear for their own fates but in fear for their families'.

"What if two of us got Reaped?"

Madge had never known what to reply with to it, but Katniss had. Katniss had always had a logical response for every question, after all she'd always been the sensible one of the three.

"There's no point dwelling on something that unlikely. Think of all those slips in that bowl, it's nearly impossible one of us will get Reaped, never mind two of us."

But now it wasn't unimaginable, now Katniss herself stood upon that stage, along with 42 slips with Gale Hawthorne written on them. And then there was always the chance he'd volunteer, after all, Gale was careless, he did things without thinking.

Breathe in, breathe out. She tried to stay focused on keeping her breathing steady and her feet moving back to where she'd been before. Her eyes lifted themselves off the the concrete to skid over those around her, making sure to never look at one person for too long, in fear they'd see right through her brave facade. She could still feel their beady eyes on her back as she strode past them though, even if she was not looking at them directly. The inquisitive looks of morbid curiosity, aswell as disgust following her retreating figure. Don't let them see you cry, don't let them see you cry.

The girls to her right wore relieved looks, the same look she and Katniss had worn the previous four years after they'd been spared, but Madge decided she instantly hated that look. All she could feel this year was despair. And the boys to her left just looked frightened. Even those Gale's age, eighteen, too scared to mask their fear like they'd been doing only minutes before. She decided she hated that look aswell, not that it was their fault, she definitely didn't blame the boys, but because that it was what they had been reduced to. Kids so riddled with fear that they were relieved when a friend or family member was chosen instead of them self. Everyone but Katniss, that was.

Lastly, she lifted her eyes to look straight forward, towards her best friend who stood atop of the stage with a steely look of determination across her face. Her features covered her emotions effortlessly, unlike the rest of the kids in the square's did, and Katniss looked nothing like the emotional girl from two minutes ago. In fact Katniss no longer looked like herself at all, definitely not the same girl she had been that morning, splashing around in the lake and flirting with the baker's son. No, Katniss' anger shone brighter than it ever had before as she announced her name to the whole of Panem.

"Katniss Everdeen."

"Well, I bet my buttons that was your little sister. Don't want her to steal all the glory, do we? Come on, everybody! Let's give a big round of applause to our newest tribute!" Effie trilled brightly whilst clapping her own hands in a childish sort of excitement. No one else followed her example. And Madge couldn't help but smile proudly at her district, because this had never happened before. This silent act of rebellion, a whole district standing up saying we do not agree, we do not condone what you are doing, right into the faces of the Capitol.

And in her own little act of rebellion Madge rose her hand above the crowd. The middle three fingers of her left hand pressing themselves to her lips before lifting upwards towards the sky. It meant thanks, admiration, goodbye to someone you loved. And then to Madge's surprise, her fire caught onto those around her, much like Katniss' had, and soon everyone held their hand in the air, in the district's salute to the brave sister from the Seam. Whether they knew her or not, Katniss would not be forgotten.

A whistle then sung out, its four notes hanging heavily over the silent crowd. Gale's tune standing out strong and clear against the lull that had fallen over the district. It was their tune, her, Katniss and Gale's, the sound of the mockingjay's in the trees, the song Wren had taught them. It brought tears to her friend's eyes, her quiet, kind, protective Kat. And in that moment, Madge knew Katniss deserved so much more than what the world had given her. So much more.

"Look at her. Look at this one!" Haymitch hollered as he stumbled towards a sturdy Katniss, his hands outstretched looking for something to steady himself against. Katniss' shoulder unfortunately was that thing, and Madge watched her friend flinch away as the drunkard's arm wrapped itself around her shoulder, her body tensing up to support his extra weight. He leant against her quite a lot actually but Katniss held him with ease, a testament to her invisible strength. No one would think Katniss was strong, not from her willowy frame or pretty looks, but the conviction in her eyes and the harsh lines that marked her scowl could send even the bravest of them all cowering. That added to her years of hunting, made her a strong contender in these games and an even stronger person. Katniss, like Madge, had known great struggle in her life. They were Sean kids after all. For food was scarce when the mines had been closed after the strikes that condemned her father to death. But unlike her mother, and Madge's mother to be bluntly honest, who had both been willing to lay down and starve, Katniss had followed her father to hunt for more game and provide for Prim. And soon Madge did the same. To Madge. Katniss had always been a leader, unintentionally of course, Katniss hated attention. But she'd always known how to get things done in the best way possible, efficient and practical. Madge just hoped that she'd be able to do that when it came time to go into the Arena. No, in fact, Madge had no doubt Katniss would do that in the Arena. For Katniss was not just a tribute, or a contender, or even a killer. Katniss would do what she had to do, for Katniss was a survivor.

"Lots of..." he hesitated for a moment, his tongue dipping from his mouth to wet his lips and his head propping itself against Katniss' shoulder in contemplation of how he was about to describe her.

"Spunk!" A look of pure smug and triumphant crossed his face as he pushed off of Katniss and swayed towards where the camera was.

More than you!" His spit splattered unattractively onto the camera as he shouted, the insides of his mouth showcasing themselves to the whole district on the big screen above. Madge wondered who he was ranting at. Surely not the audience? Katniss has volunteered already, there was not much more they could do at this moment. But if it wasn't them he was aiming his anger at, it must have been the Capitol. Not even Haymitch was stupid enough to do that. Right? "More than y..!" He stumbled mid-sentence, his ankle twisting on an awkward angle, sending his already weakened body plummeting off the stage and onto the concrete below. The peacekeepers quickly dragged him off on a stretcher, his body draped sluggishly in his unconscious state, and the district exhaled in a collective sigh. Everyone obviously grateful for his sudden departure off stage, and generally unconcerned for his health, except Madge who unwillingly found herself worrying for the poor man. He couldn't be too hurt, right? He was a Victor after all.

"Oh, golly! Hasn't today just been so exciting?" Effie gently smoothed down the skirt of her outfit as she resumed her position as Escort, the tone of her voice bitter and digusted as she spoke but the superficial words and sickeningly sweet accent disguised her true feelings almost perfectly. Almost.

"Well.. I think we shall continue with the Reaping, don't you all?" The crowd was silent.

"Now time for the boys."

Madge felt her hands fist themselves around her dress material as she nervously awaited the name to be called. Please not Gale, please not Gale, please not Gale. The shuffling of fingers in the bowl thudded around her brain, and her eyes glued themselves on the slip that Effie gracefully drew between her fingers. Please not Gale, please not Gale, please not Gale.

"Rhys Mellark." Madge puffed out the breath she had been holding for what seemed like days. Pure relief. Before quickly hiding it as a cough, her mind disgusted with herself for being so happy that Rhys has been chosen instead of Gale. But she was disgustingly relieved. In fact she was even more than relieved. She was borderline happy. And how dirty she felt. How she loathed herself for it, her instinctive relief, her utter selfishness, her ruined morals. The guilt was flooding in and she felt herself drowning in the tears that prickled in her eyes. Damn it Madge, pull yourself together. Don't let them see you cry, don't let th...

Her thoughts were broken by a sudden clear voice shouting above the silence. A voice far more heart wrenching than her guilty conscience. Far more destroying. A voice she knew well.

"I volunteer as tribute!"

No.


	4. Chapter 4

AN- hey guys thanks for all the kind reviews, feedback and support ou all showed me on the previous chapter through your reviews, favourites and follows. This chapter reveals the allusive volunteer, shows some tension forming between Gale and Madge, and reveals the depths of Madge's friendship with Katniss when they are forced to say their goodbyes.

Review replies -

Lsquare - Thankyou for you're review and yes, I agree, the plot does seem to be thickening. I wonder what might happen next. Your guess is also spot on, well done

K.C - all will be revealed concerning our allusive volunteer but no matter who it is, expect Gale to bring so much to this story no matter what. The families aren't out of the woods yet also, there is still many more ups and downs the come.

And to all 4 guests - Thankyou for your reviews and hope you enjoy this next chapter as much as I enjoy reading your kind reviews and words.

Disclaimer - I don't own the Hunger Games, just my perception on the characters.

xxx

Madge watched her best friend's face morph from a face of neutral discomfort on stage, to a look of confusion, then shock, then fear before finally settling upon a wide gape of despair all within the space of a few seconds. Madge's own expression was probably just as laughable, if not for the situation, with her jaw hanging agape in shock at Peeta's sudden decision. Peeta though was almost unnaturally unshaken, he held a strong yet gentle determination as he stiffly walked towards the stage. As he passed by her pen, his gaze wondered from Katniss' to Madge's as if sensing her own worried eyes glued upon his back. At her despaired expression he let a small, sorry smile paint his lips but even that could not cover the palpable fear in his eyes that she felt hit her body and shudder through her like a haunting chill. When he reached Rhys in the aisle way there was a small moment of absolute understanding, an unspoken communication passed between the two brothers that could not be determined by anyone else watching the small encounter. There eyes seemed to move in code, translating the others emotions effortlessly, and Madge wondered if there'd practiced this before. Their mother did have a reputation for being quite the bitch and was notorious for hitting both her husband and sons often, maybe that's where they'd learnt it from, experience. And then, after the moment had ended, Rhys simply took his brother's shaking hand in his and pulled him into his arms in a grateful embrace before he too retreated and left Peeta to mount the stage alone.

"Another volunteer! What an proud occasion today must be for district 12, and an exciting one aswell." Effie clapped her hands together in a childlike fashion, her beaming face contrasting so harshly against the sorrowful expressions. Madge honestly believed, as she looked at the grim picture before her, that this was a moment that she could never forget. She remembered this feeling from all those years ago, the dread that had buried itself deep into her stomach as she was forced to watch her father walk to his death in chains. In fact his feet sounded oddly like Katniss' did now, walking towards her eventual death. And Madge swore it was as if Snow was taunting her all over again.

"I present to you the tributes of district twelve, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in our favour."

" _I now present to district 12, the man accused and proven to be a traitor of the Capitol, who will be hanged for his treasonous actions against both President Snow and Panem. Panem today, Panem tomorrow, Panem forever."_

The two sounded so different in Madge's mind yet the underlying message of both was clearly the same. Death would be the eventual outcome. Except now she had to have hope that her friend would survive and return to her. She had to believe that the goodbye she was now quickly rushing towards would not be their last. That this would not be her final moments with Katniss Everdeen, the brave girl with an incredibly dry sense of humour who had supported and stood beside Madge for the last four years through thick and thin. Her feet carried her effortlessly, pushing passed the other children with ease, her small body weaving through the small gaps and cracks of the crowd that now swarmed in an unorganised chaos. She didn't even stop to wonder where Gale or Prim were, if they too had rushed off on pure instinct to say their goodbyes to Katniss or if they were somewhere back in the crowd waiting for her. Even if they were waiting she couldn't turn back for them. Physically she was trapped and it would be nearly impossible to push against the large wave of people emptying out the square and mentally her determination was blinding all her other emotions that were trying to clear her mind. No, there was no turning back.

She took the stairs up to the Justice building two at a time, adrenaline hurtling her body through the doors in a very ungraceful way. Multiple pairs of eyes simultaneously moved to stare at her as she entered but she brushed them off with ease. She was used to the disdain they held, in fact it was etched upon her memory from all the times people had judged the previous mayor's daughter. But right now, she couldn't bring herself to care for false manners and fake smiles, she had much more important priorities to handle. Two doors stood opposite each other in the waiting room, each holding a tribute in, waiting for their first goodbyes to commence. Nearby peacekeepers stood ready to allow entries and exits to take place swiftly and smoothly, their movements and placements very precisely planned and manoeuvred.

Madge quickly caught sight of Prim's small pair of braids in the light, her body cradled in between the arms of her mother and father, who both stood slumped in sorrow against the wall. Wren was obviously whispering small words of reassurance into their ears from the way the two women stared up at him hopefully, but his voice was too hushed for Madge to hear even as she moved closer to their little huddle by the door. She wished that she too could be held in someone's comforting arms, protected by reassurances and hopeful words from the sadness she was about to witness and experience firsthand, but she would never have that bond with her family.

As she lined herself up behind them, Prim caught her eye and without any hesitation she felt the younger girl's arms fling around her in devastation. Prim's cries were tamer than before, her sobs having been sedated and in their place a few whimpers and hiccups left. Madge felt her hands cup Prim's cheek as she lowered herself so that they were both on the same eye level, and she painfully watched a lone tear grace down the curve of the little girl's nose onto her chin and then onto the cold floor below.

"Shhh.. don't cry. Katniss doesn't want to see you crying, she wants to see her brave little sister. She wants to see your beautiful smile and feel your arms around her. She doesn't want to see tears, not when today is already sad enough. You've got to be brave Prim, if not for me and your parents then for Katniss. Promise me." Madge gently willed the younger girl to agree whilst her hand wiped away the tears that were brimming in Prim's eyes. Prim nodded wordlessly, her throat too constricted with emotions to talk, and quickly hugged Madge before following her parents into the room to say their goodbyes. Her arms wrapped themselves around her middle as she learnt backwards against the wall, her hands seemingly hind lining her together where she stood. Don't let them see you cry, don't let them see you cry. She may not have had a mother or father to hold her as she stood alone waiting, but she had learnt to rely on no one but herself a long time ago. The feeling was natural.

Behind her the entrance doors swung open loudly, crashing into the walls behind them with a huge clatter and drawing her attention away from her thoughts. Madge watched as Gale burst into the room with even more fever than she had, his eyes crazed and hair tousled, an obvious sign of his own nerves getting the best of him.

"Katniss, where's Katniss Everdeen? Someone better fucking tell me where she is because I need to see her now!" She watched him shout at a nearby peacekeeper with rage and although her body was worn down and willed her to let Gale protect himself, she felt obliged to stop him from getting into more trouble than he needed to be in. So quickly, just as Gale's hand reached out to left hook the Peacekeepers mask, Madge pushed Gale backwards into the wall behind them, far way from the angered peacekeeper.

"I'm sorry, he didn't mean to do that he's just upset." She halfheartedly apologised on behalf of Gale to the peacekeeper, who accepted her words and let the incident slide with Gale relatively unscathed. Gale, however, was less put off by her interference, instead choosing to release his anger out on her as she went to pull him by his shirt into the queue to see Katniss.

"Get the fuck off me and the fuck away from me, Undersee!" He threw her backwards, and Madge was shocked by his obvious assault towards her as she laid on the floor. Gale had never physically attacked her before even during their most enraged arguments. Her heart beat with fury and she pushed herself up to meet him where he stood, looming over her.

"Then fucking learn to control yourself, Hawthorne, before you get us both killed!" She turned away from him in outrage, her hand unconsciously meeting to cradle the spot where he'd bruised her arm. His eyes met the same spot and his body immediately tensed behind her. She could sense his every movement after all the years they'd spent together in the woods, side by side, and she prepared herself for the worse. His hand met the wall beside them with a thud as he punched it harshly, the pressure causing it to shake slightly under his strength.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Madge. Trust me, I wasn't thinking and I didn't mean to push you that hard and..."

"It's fine, Gale." She cut him off stiffly but she didn't turn to face him, instead keeping her body facing towards the door which imprisoned her best friend. Of course she'd had much worse injuries before, mentally aswell as physically, but this one seemed to throb with a different sort of pain. Not the pain of falling out of tree or even the pain that always seemed to thread its way into her heart after one of her mothers attack's, but the pain of broken trust mixed with her already broken heart. Maybe it was unfair on Gale to blame it all on him, but her mind was so confused and dizzy that it was too hard to differentiate between fairness and feelings, and if Gale was on the receiving end of that, then so be it.

Gale, sensing her anger, let the argument die off and leant against the wall with an anguished scowl upon his face. Madge joined him soon after, her body pressing itself against the cold wood in silence as she fiddled with the pin on her dress. Across the room she watched Peeta's family exit the room, his father's and brother's eyes stained with tears and their bodies weak with exhaustion and sadness. There faces were haunted with grief and their voices broken as they quietly cried to themselves whilst walking away from the door. Madge felt her heart break slightly for their pain, for Peeta was a good guy in every sense of the description. His smile was always kind and held no judgement of them when they traded with him, his words were never harsh or belittling like others often were and then there was his love for Katniss. For that was what had made Madge trust Peeta Mellark. The look of absolute adoration in his eyes that shone so clearly when he saw Katniss every Sunday, that beamed so brightly when he caught a glimpse of her at school or out of the bakery window in town. Peeta was a good guy that loved a faulted girl and Madge was sure that that was what would eventually lead to his demise. His heart was just too good for the Games.

"It's your turn to go in Madge." Gale gently nudged her and when she flinched at his touch, he just nodded with his head towards the door that the Everdeens were exiting from. Prim's cries sounded torturous as she was pulled away from Katniss' arms by a peacekeeper and Madge felt her own eyes brim with tears as they all squabbled to shout their love for each other one last time before the door closed and they were lead away.

"Next." The peacekeeper by the door shouted as he reopened the door and Madge stepped forward to enter the room swiftly before it closed behind her with a loud, harsh bang. In front of her Katniss sat on an antique looking couch that was engraved with multiple miscellaneous stains of some sort. At the sound of entrance Katniss' eyes lifted to meet Madge's. In her eyes, Madge saw not only pain and devastation but the one thing she'd never seen in Katniss before. She saw unadulterated fear. And with no hesitation, her feet carried her forward and her arms lifted Katniss into her embrace with such intent that even Katniss was blown away.

"You're gonna be okay, Kat, you're gonna be okay." She whispered into Katniss' ear as she cradled her best friend in her arms but her words were drowned out by the desolate sobs that were escaping both their throats in unison.

"I promised myself I wouldn't cry, that I'd be strong and now look at me. A blubbering mess like my mother, God." Katniss joked half heartedly whilst roughly swiping away at the tears that had managed to escape her eyes.

"You don't have to be all big and strong with me Kat, it's okay to be upset, it's okay to cry."

"But that's the thing, Madge, I can't let them see that that I'm not strong, I can't let them see that I cry and I'm weak, that I'm ...scared. Not just scared, I'm terrified, Madge. I can't kill someone, animals yes but not a human, not someone just like me with a family to go home to and people who need them. I just can't..." Katniss' voice was so fragile as she spoke and her expression was unreadable as she covered her face with her hands in defeat.

"You are not weak, Kat. In fact, you're the strongest person I know."

"Madge, you don't need to..."

"Shut up and let me speak or so help you, I will shut you up myself." Madge threatened with humour but Katniss obeyed non the less as Madge went to sit beside her on the couch.

"You've never let fear stop you from achieving your goals, you've never backed down from a challenge or conformed to what people have thought or said about you. You're brave not just in your actions but in your mindset and I know it's not gonna be easy to do what you have to do. To be honest, it's gonna he really damn hard. But I believe you'll come back home, that this isn't goodbye. And I'm not saying to kill without emotion, you're no career Katniss, you're human. But if you have to kill make it worth something. Make it a sign, make them pay for what they've done to us, what they've done to all the kids in that arena." Madge slowly unclipped her pin from her dress and placed it into Katniss' open palm delicately.

"No Madge, I know how much this means to you and I can't accept it." Katniss tried, with no avail, to force the pin back into Madge's clutched fist, but Madge stood firm in her decision to gift her friend her token.

"You can and you will. Just think of it as a reminder, that if you ever feel lost, this is what you're fighting for, to come home." Madge wrapped her hand aroud Katniss hand so that the pin was tightly placed in her friend's possession and squeezed it in reassurance. Katniss, although still slightly wary and unsure, neatly clasped the pin to the front of her own dress, and Madge smiled a melancholy smile at the sight of it on her. After a moment of soft silence between the pair, Katniss suddenly seemed to remember what she had wanted to say before and her voice had an urgent tone to it as she resolutely asked Madge to promise her something.

"Take care of Prim for me, Madge, promise me you will." She clasped her hand around Madge's in an almost pleading like fashion, as if she was begging her for the impossible.

"Always, Kat." She reassured her with a tight squeeze.

"And Gale, and my parents and Peeta's family." She quickly listed, her words rambling and hurried as she tried to remember who would need Madge's care now that she did not anymore.

"I'll take care of them all, I promise Kat. You just worry about taking care of yourself." Madge's hands raised to her friend's shoulders and they shared a look of quiet understanding much as Peeta had done with Rhys. And deep down, Madge knew that this was all hurting so bad because Katniss was the closest thing to family she had left. With her father dead, her mother constantly switching between the word of the living and dead and no siblings, Katniss offered a comfort like no other, a familiarity of a sister and the unconditional love of one too. Katniss was her sister in nearly all terms of the word except the literal one.

"Time's nearly up!" One of the Peacekeepers outside shouted through the door, his voice and words causing Madge to grip onto Katniss with a purposeful tightness. Katniss, who was usually very against open affectionate displays and touching in general, tethered herself onto Madge with a similar neediness, as though her life depended on it.

"Come home Kat." Madge whispered to her best friend as they shared their embrace, their arms tangled together and their bodies warm with proximity. Madge drank in the familiar scent that her best friend held one last time, the distinct smell of the forest mixed with burnt embers and goats milk from Lady filling her nose.

"Time's up." Two Peacekeepers barged onto the room forcefully, their arms harshly pulling Madge away from Katniss' warmth and back into the coldness and loneliness of the hallway. Madge struggled slightly in their grip but didn't complain or shout as they dragged her out of the room with much more force than was necessary. The pressure with which they held her arms made her wince slightly, and she was sure that in their place would be bruises to signify her pain later on. As they crossed the threshold, Madge violently tore her body away from them and steadied herself for a moment to regain her balance. Her eyes immediately turned to glance over her shoulder to catch one last glimpse of Katniss when she could stand, but she was too late and the door loudly closed between them, separating them for what could be the last time.

She waited for moment but soon concluded that waiting was pointless. Katniss was gone. So with the knowledge that she could do nothing else for Katniss, Madge defeatedly moved towards the doorway in which she had entered mere minutes ago with such urgency. All that she felt was pain, throbbing away at her with such intensity now that her initial adrenaline had worn off and she was left alone with her thoughts. The pain inside was so indescribable that she felt utterly useless. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe, the air was suddenly suffocating and her lungs burned with a deep need to escape. Her feet carried her far away from the imprisoning environment and while her mind didn't really know where they were taking her, her heart led the way effortlessly. There was really only one place she could go, after all. The woods.

She ran through the meadow with such intent, grass brushing past her open ankles causing small red marks to flourish and blemish her skin. Her body slipped perfectly under the fence, which was thankfully still switched off, and her heart pounded as she raced to find cover and shelter in the tree line of the forest ahead. She easily passed along the familiar unmarked pathway through the woods that she had taken day after day for years. Even as her vision blurred with unshed tears, she could still identify the different trees that they'd picked from, she could still see the old oak to the left, about 10 metres off the track, the one which Katniss had fallen from a few years back and the strawberry bush in the distance that she yearned to eat from.

Suddenly she stopped. There, in it's small hide, a mere crack in the tree's trunk, stood Katniss' precious bow and quiver of handmade arrows alongside Madge's carefully crafted daggers and Gale's roll of cord for his snares. She wasn't surprised to see them there, of course. But maybe it was how unaffected it all was that shocked her, how nothing had changed here from when they'd left this morning yet how everything had changed at the very same time. The bow was no longer the prized possession of Katniss Everdeen, it was merely an orphan, a relic of the past, of days spent laughing carelessly in trees and hunting for game. Her quiver seemed somehow lonelier now, with no owner to craft its arrows or hold its weight during the hunt. Madge's hand slowly traced the curve of its back, where Katniss had spent hours engraving pretty patterns into the wood during long afternoons in the mid day heat of the sweltering summer days. It felt wrong almost, to hold what Katniss had held, felt almost criminal to retrieve the bow from its final resting place where its owner had last left it. She couldn't bare to move it, yet her hands yearned to feel its comforting presence, its familiarity in her arms. The pad of her thumb delicately followed the taunt line of the string, ending abruptly when it reached the bottom of the bow. Reaching delicately to grip onto the back again, Madge carefully retrieved the bow, carrying its frame into the light and openness of the outside air.

Yet she did not feel free, the air around her still felt tight and trapping and the burden in her chest had not been relieved like she had hoped for. Even now as she held a piece of Katniss in her own arms, she felt no relief, no consolation for her loss, no freedom from the fears and dread that she had always left behind her inside the district fence. A lone tear dropped past her nose, wetting the Rio of her nostrils and causing them to flare in irritation. She swiped it away quickly. But then the tear came in floods, the anger releasing itself in desolate cries and gasps that echoed harshly in the silence that surrounded her. She sobbed into her hands and the tears dripped between her fingers, raining down onto the parched soil. Her breathing was ragged, gasping and the strength left her legs. She sank to her knees not caring about the grit that dug into her knees and dirtied her dress. She was noisy, her skin was blotched but there was no-one there to witness it let alone come to comfort her. She let the fear and loneliness swallow her and only when she had nothing left to give, no voice left to verbalise the deep grief inside of her did she stand once more.

And then, after putting the bow back in it's rightful position and forcing her feet to carry her home, Madge lifted her chin despite the swelling of her face. Her tears were real, her pain was real, but the world was cruel and harsh and starvation and sickness waited for no one. She may have lost part of her armour today, may have lost half her army even, but Madge was a survivor. And she wouldn't go down without a good fight.

Katniss had taught her to fight a long time ago, now Madge had to continue her legacy.

Xxx

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